


sundae and tteokbokki

by chen_gzi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, High School, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 22:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19485301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chen_gzi/pseuds/chen_gzi
Summary: Jongdae wonders if having a deficit of Baekhyun can be diagnosed as an illness, because he’s pretty sure that’s what he’s suffering from.





	sundae and tteokbokki

**Author's Note:**

> the story that goes along with [this lil drawing I did](https://twitter.com/sleepychengzi/status/1147040296795922432?s=19)!
> 
> it's been a long time since I actually wrote and finished something so that's all this is 💕

What Jongdae hates the most about being out in the countryside is waiting for the bus. Getting out from class five minutes later than usual means that he’s going to be waiting forty minutes for the next bus, and he mournfully refreshes the app over and over again in the hopes that the number will magically decrease.

And… and….

Nope, it’s still a forty-minute wait. Great.

“Are you hungry?”

Jongdae turns at the gentle bump to his shoulder, meeting Baekhyun’s eager smile with a widening one of his own. After hours of school and then cram school, he’s more than willing to put off going home to do homework, and just the thought of some spicy tteokbokki and sundae is making the stress feel less overwhelming.

Although that might also be the promised company.

“Like you don’t already know that I’m always hungry” Jongdae tilts his head down the street, skipping down the stairs to their cram school. “The same place as usual?”

“Where else?” Baekhyun beams, pulling his backpack closer as he follows.

As soon as they are on the sidewalk, Baekhyun throws a lazy arm around Jongdae and jumps into a story about his homeroom teacher’s ongoing crusade to convince him to apply to majors outside of music. It’s nothing Jongdae hasn’t heard before, and this time he only listens with half of his attention, letting his own anxious thoughts fill the rest of his mind. Now in their senior year, it’s common for students to be worried about the future, but for Jongdae the end of the year comes with another deadline too.

Summer means that the end of the semester is coming to the end, and the next semester is packed with exams and applications. Counting down to the end of the semester means that he’s not only counting down to the end of his carefree high school days, but also counting down to the end of a schedule where the two of them are guaranteed to meet a least once a week.

The days have gotten hot, but the evenings are still pleasantly cool and Baekhyun’s hand is dry when Jongdae reaches up to grab it, pulling it closer around him and humming along to Baekhyun’s angry rant.

“-it’s not like I’m interested in anything else! What am I going to study if not music?”

Baekhyun stops and squeezes against Jongdae’s side to let someone pass them on the sidewalk. After the woman has passed, Baekhyun snuggles his head into Jongdae’s shoulder rather than pulling away, and Jongdae’s heart aches with fondness as he looks at the boy burrowed against him. The sun has just started to set, and Jongdae is more than a little enchanted by the way the light casts a light orange glow over Baekhyun’s bleached hair. Bleaching his hair had led to another rant about his homeroom teacher, but Baekhyun’s private school was one of the few without rules forbidding it and he’d gotten away with it in the end.

And now, seeing it in this light, everything glowing with pinks and golds, makes Jongdae grateful that he did.

“You’ll get in, don’t worry.” The fluffy crown of Baekhyun’s hair is right there, and it would be so easy to kiss the whorl where his hair parts. With herculean levels of restraint, Jongdae reaches up with his other hand to pet down the strands, flattening the flyaways and trying to rescue himself from temptation. Even with his hair damaged from the bleach it feels soft to the touch, and Jongdae gives in enough to press his cheek against it. Being this close, Jongdae can smell lingering traces of chlorine from an earlier swimming class and memories of going to the waterpark together flit through his mind. That day was at the peak of summer, and Baekhyun had pushed Jongdae into the pool at the first hint of him whining about the heat. Hopefully, Baekhyun won’t be too busy with supplementary classes to go again this summer. “Your teacher doesn’t know anything about singing. Your vocal coach thinks you’re good enough and you should listen to him instead.”

Jongdae has said similar things over the past month, but any time Baekhyun needs to hear it, he’ll say it again. He knows that Baekhyun goes to some fancy private school and he just goes to a public school, but hearing the way Baekhyun’s teachers try to discourage him from doing what he wants makes Jongdae wish that they were at the same school during the day as well.

What’s the use of paying extra to have teachers crush your dreams? Shouldn’t there be even more opportunities and shouldn’t the teachers be even more supportive? 

It was hard enough to be in different classes and wonder what Baekhyun was doing all day during middle school, but now that they’re in different schools it’s even harder to wait for the brief updates he gets. He tries to make up for it by pampering Baekhyun more the few times he sees him.

“But what about you? Don’t you think I’ll be a good vocal teacher?” When Baekhyun shifts his head around, his chin digs painfully into Jongdae’s shoulder and Jongdae yelps, instinctively pinching Bekhyun’s side in retaliation.

Sometimes pampering needs to be balanced out with a little tough love.

“You know I do,” he snorts. “Stop trying to fish for compliments from your poor tired cram school classmate.”

Squirming away with a whine, Baekhyun looks at him balefully. “Just classmates? Is that all our years of friendship mean to you?” Never one to let an opportunity pass, Baekhyun clutches his side and moans pitifully.

Jongdae’s not sure if he’s trying to go for sympathy or comedy.

This time, Jongdae is the one to put his arm around Baekhyun, pulling him into a sideways hug as he tugs him down the street again. He’s learned from experience that it’s better to distract Baekhyun from whining rather than indulging him in it, and he simply laughs rather than bothering to respond. “C’mon, let’s get some food.”

Even though Jongdae joked that they were just classmates, the two of them had never actually been in the same class together. They were in different classes in elementary and middle school, and in high school they ended up at different schools. Even at the cram school they were in different classes. Back when they were kids, it was a yearly disappointment to see the class lists and find out that they were separated once again, but as they got older they found better ways of staying in touch, like having weekly movie sleepovers and sneaking in texts between classes.

It wasn’t until this year that being in different schools had felt like a problem. With extra college prep courses and more tests and homework, it became harder to find times to meet up. The last few months they barely even had time to meet before and after their weekly cram school classes. More than once Jongdae would finish class to find that Baekhyun had already gone home and their chat full of crying emojis.

Of course they still message and text daily, but it doesn’t feel like an adequate substitute for their usual time together and Jongdae has found himself becoming even more touchy when they see each other in person because of it.

It’s the first time that Jongdae has begun to worry that they won’t be in each other’s lives forever, and he doesn’t like thinking of a future where their paths split into different directions. Baekhyun has always been a staple in his life, and it definitely isn’t a staple that Jongdae is ready to lose. 

“Hey, you okay?” Baekhyun wiggles out from underneath Jongdae’s arm, eyebrows dipped in concern as he reaches around Jongdae’s neck to stroke his nape soothingly. “You’ve been pretty quiet today and you almost walked by the stall.”

When he can look away from Baekhyun he realizes that he’s right and they’re already there. 

“I’m fine.” He pulls Baekhyun’s hand away, squeezing it with what he hopes is a reassuring smile. “Just tired, is all.”

He wonders if having a deficit of Baekhyun can be diagnosed as an illness, because he’s pretty sure that’s what he’s suffering from.

The creases in Baekhyun’s brow are still there and Jongdae pokes at them with a wry smile. “You can’t get wrinkles this young or you’re never going to become a singer. I’ll be okay as soon as I get some food in me so let’s hurry up and eat.”

Baekhyun eyes him suspiciously, shifting their hands until their fingers are entwined. “You better not be lying to me, Kim Jongdae.” Another squeeze and then Baekhyun gives up, tugging him to their usual place at the narrow metal counter.

The stall owner is happy to see them again, asking why they haven’t been by recently as he pours small paper cups of broth for them to drink while they wait for him to scoop up the tteokbokki and sundae. He refuses to take any money this time, insisting that students in their last year deserve a treat for studying so hard, and they give up trying to pay him after he refuses their bills a few times. 

Falling into silence, they watch the stall owner fill two paper plates for them. It’s clear that Baekhyun is still worried about him, and Jongdae is both equal parts happy and embarrassed that Baekhyun leaves one hand on Jongdae’s knee, rubbing at it as he sips at the warm broth. 

Soon there are two portions of steaming food on the counter in front of them and they use skewers to poke at the food, laughing as they carefully angle their mouths to catch the bites before they fall apart. It’s a bit risky when their uniforms are white, but somehow that makes the food taste even more delicious.

After serving the two of them, the stall owner has settled back into a folding chair to play games on his phone, so there’s no one to watch when Jongdae childishly skewers the same piece as Baekhyun with an innocent grin. He’s expecting Baekhyun to fight him over it, but Baekhyun quickly concedes, offering him the rice cake.

“If letting you have my hard earned rice cake is going to get rid of your weird mood then go ahead,” Baekhyun dangles it in front of him and thankfully the sauce drips on the counter rather than on Jongdae’s shirt.

Jongdae rolls his eyes and eats it obligingly, snapping his teeth at Baekhyun afterwards just because he can’t let Baekhyun get away with being that smug and patronizing. It’s always dangerous when he lets Baekhyun think that he has the upper hand for too long.

As the sunlight begins to disappear completely, the weather gets colder and street lights begin to flicker on. Office workers start to fill up the other seats at the stall, snacking on tteokbokki and throwing back shots of soju to take the edge off a long day of work. Jongdae tries to imagine the two of them in suits instead of uniforms, their school crests swapped out for name card lanyards and ties. 

But it’s hard to imagine Baekhyun contained in something as ordinary as an office job. Even if he can thrive in any situation, there’s something about Baekhyun which is meant to glow and Jongdae doesn’t think that any desk job would do that justice. He’s made to be in the spotlight, interacting with people and bringing that glow to everyone’s life, not stuck at a desk filing paperwork.

The seats are filling up fast so they eat the last of their food quickly, stuffing intestine and rice cake into their mouths and laughing as the sauce gathers at the corners of their mouths. There’s a small mountain of napkins at their plates when they finish cleaning their lips and fingers, and the stall owner waves them off when they thank him for the food once again. 

“Ah, I needed that,” Jongdae sighs out, rubbing his belly as they leave the stall. The next bus is already coming soon but he feels too relaxed to worry about missing it, much preferring to spend as much time with Baekhyun as he can before it’s back to the drudgery of school.

“Right?” Gleefully, Baekhyun swings their clasped hands between them and Jongdae realizes that he didn’t even know they were holding hands before this. He’s so used to having Baekhyun around him that any contact or invasion into his physical space feels more natural than being on his own.

It feels right to lean into Baekhyun as they walk. The scents of his detergent and shampoo are familiar and the warmth of his hand is calming. Even Baekhyun’s profile against the unearthly dimming light is grounding.

Always dramatic, Baekhyun clears his throat noisily. “So… now that we got food... should I complain more about my teachers or do you want to talk about something?”

Jongdae knows that if he doesn’t want to tell Baekhyun then he doesn’t have to. He can shake his head and Baekhyun will hug him to comfort him anyway. Then they’ll walk to the bus stop while Baekhyun talks about the newest song he has to learn for his vocal lessons. Maybe Baekhyun will sing a few verses and Jongdae will sing along. They’ll both go home and nothing will change.

The bus stop is already visible from the streetlamp they’ve stopped at. An electronic display is flashing the schedule for the upcoming buses. There’s the number of his bus, and now there’s only five minutes until it will arrive. In five minutes Jongdae can be on his way home, scrolling through Twitter and texting Baekhyun cute cat gifs. He has five minutes to decide if he wants to say something or not.

And it’s yet another deadline. Five minutes before the bus comes. Ten minutes between classes. One more semester of cram school classes. One last year of high school. 

And as beautiful as Baekhyun looked under the sunset, he looks just as handsome under the unflattering flickering light of this dim streetlight. Even when the light is casting everything into harsh shadows and yellow tones, Jongdae’s eyes easily find the moles dotting Baekhyun’s face and the soft curve of his lips. The white shirt of his uniform contrasts against the summer tan on his arms and when Jongdae’s gaze follows his arms down he looks at their tightly joined hands. 

Tied to Baekhyun’s wrist is the knotted bracelet Jongdae made for him last summer, and when Jongdae looks over Baekhyun again, now he can see the details of their time together on Baekhyun himself. The frayed friendship bracelet tied around Baekhyun’s wrist. The small scar on his arm from when they tried to climb a wire fence when following after Mongryong. The stain of curry on the sleeve of his shirt from when Jongdae made him laugh while eating. 

Jongdae rubs his thumb over the bracelet thoughtfully, loving the way Baekhyun’s expression softens.

Surely no matter what future comes, there will be even more details shared between them. They’ve already become such large parts of each other’s lives, and even if they can’t meet up as often, it doesn’t mean that they don’t care about each other. 

“Baekhyun, we’ll always be together, right?”

He doesn’t know what his expression looks like, but Baekhyun is staring at him in wonder and Jongdae is beginning to think he said something really strange. Nervously, he laughs just to break the silence.

“Sorry, I just- When you were talking about the future I just started thinking. I mean we’re already going to different schools and what if our universities are even farther apart and I just miss you a lot and-”

And then Baekhyun is mumbling, “if I’m wrong, please don’t hate me” and leaning closer.

When Jongdae thinks back on this moment he’ll realize that he probably should have looked around to make sure there was no one on the street. But at that moment all he can see is Baekhyun staring at him intently, so close that their noses are bumping up against each other and all he can do is close his eyes and kiss him.

Even though it’s a short kiss, both the exhilaration and the relief make them giddy and they pull back to laugh against each other, hands curled into each other’s uniforms as they struggle to stay standing. 

Still snorting with laughter, Baekhyun’s eyes are flinty with happiness and he cups Jongdae’s face in his hands. “You should have seen your face! You looked so scared when you asked! It was so cute.” And because he’s an asshole before anything else, he pitches his voice an octave higher, squeaking out, “We’ll be together forever… right?”

“That’s not how I sounded at all!” Flushing, Jongdae punches his dumb best friend a few times in the shoulder. Which only makes Baekhyun laugh more. Sighing, Jongdae pulls him out of the direct light of the streetlight so he can roughly kiss him the way he wanted to earlier.

At least this kiss succeeds in making Baekhyun shut up for awhile.

But when Jongdae bites his lip and Baekhyun lets out a little yip, Jongdae is forced to admit that this is not really the place or time to do this. Reluctantly, he breaks the kiss and rests his head against Baekhyun’s forehead, sneaking one last kiss to the tip of Baekhyun’s nose before he puts the normal distance friends should be standing between them.

Immediately Baekhyun is pouting at the gap between them, petulantly tugging at Jongdae’s uniform. “Is that really what you’ve been worried about recently?” 

At first Jongdae thinks that Baekhyun is teasing him again, but his expression is surprisingly serious. Concern is creasing his eyebrows again, as he brushes both thumbs over the eyebags forming under Jongdae’s sleep deprived eyes. 

Crinkling his nose in mock disgust, Jongdae traps Baekhyun’s hands in his, pulling them down to a safer place at their sides.

“It’s partly what I was worrying about? It also bothers me that I still don’t know what I want to do when you seem to have everything figured out already. You’re going to be this rich singer-teacher-idol-superstar and I’ll just...” Waving a hand in frustration, Jongdae groans, “do something sciencey?”

Baekhyun blinks at him. “Am I not supposed to find you doing your sciencey thing hot because I definitely do.”

Laughing, Jongdae shakes his head. He should have known that Baekhyun would be just as shamelessly honest with him even if they were dating. “You know what I mean! It’s boring!”

“Jongdae, I don’t care what kind of job you have. I think you’re kind of underestimating just how much I like you.” 

“Really, and how much is that?” he asks coyly, batting his lashes in the hopes that Baekhyun will indulge him with the minimal amount of whining.

It might be that all of Jongdae’s effort was unnecessary, but he does get another kiss for his trouble, and when Baekhyun tries to pull away, Jongdae makes one kiss into two. It feels cathartic to finally have a way of expressing all the affection Jongdae has been trying to contain, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of kissing Baekhyun again and again, pressing confirmation of his feelings into Baekhyun’s skin whenever there is a chance.

“I like you way too much and if you don’t know that already then you’re a silly idiot and I’ll love you even more to make up for it.” Huffing softly, he pats Jongdae’s cheek. “Now let’s get you to that bus.”

“I’m a silly idiot and I look forward to every moment.”

Baekhyun laughs.

It’s expected when they get to the bus stop and Jongdae finds out that he missed the bus again. But this time Baekhyun joins him on the bench, and with Baekhyun’s head on his shoulder and their hands clasped between them, he can’t find it in him to care no matter how long the wait for the future is.


End file.
